The publication was prepared by the Regional Cooperation and Integration Division (ERCI) of the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with support from Technical Assistance (TA) 9763: Enhancing the Measures of Regional Cooperation and Integration: The Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation and Integration Index (ARCII).

Under the guidance of ERCI Director Cyn-Young Park, the preparation of this report was led by Rolando Avendano (economist, ADB), with the support of Mara Claire Tayag (senior economics officer, ADB), Clarisa Joy Flaminiano (TA-9763 consultant), and Lovely Ann Tolin (TA-9763 consultant); and inputs from Hyeon-Seung Huh (professor, Yonsei University).

The enhanced ARCII framework and estimates were based on the research led by Hyeon-Seung Huh, with advice from Cyn-Young Park and inputs from Racquel Claveria, Rolando Avendano, Clarisa Joy Flaminiano, and Lovely Ann Tolin. Bahodir Ganiev (TA-9763 consultant) provided inputs on subregional analysis. Kijin Kim (economist, ADB) provided helpful comments on the report and TA-9763 management support. ADB consultants from TA-9657 Asian Economic Integration: Building Knowledge for Policy Dialogue, 2018–2021 (Subproject 1) provided data support: Marife Bacate, Clemence Cruz, Pilar Dayag, Joshua Gapay, Ana Kristel Lapid, Ma. Concepcion Latoja, Paul Mariano, Dorothea Ramizo, and Dominique Sy. Data support and advice on the ADB Multiregional Input-Output Tables was provided by Mahinthan J. Mariasingham from ERCD’s Statistics and Data Innovation Unit and his team, Krizia Anne Garay and Angelo Jose Lumba.

The report team is grateful for the helpful feedback provided by participants at the ADB inception workshop on New Approaches to Measuring and Assessing Regional Cooperation and Integration held virtually on 16–17 April 2020: Alexander Chirmiciu (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), Yann Duval (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific or UNESCAP), Janos Ferencz (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD), Behrooz Gharleghi (Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute), Shigeru Kimura (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia), Philippe De Lombaerde (United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies), Syed Shakeel Shah (CAREC Institute), Dániel Vértesy (International Telecommunication Union); and ADB colleagues—Thomas Abell, Ronald Antonio Butiong, Yesim Elhan-Kayalar, Arjun Goswami, Smita Nakhooda, Safdar Parvez, Alfredo Perdiguero, Emma Veve, and Joseph E. Zveglich Jr. Comments were also provided by panelists at the Regional Cooperation and Integration Policy Open Dialogue (RCI-POD) Webinar No. 15: Measuring Regional Cooperation and Integration— Early Results and Extensions held on 26 October 2020: Hans Holzhacker (CAREC Institute), Alfredo Perdiguero (ADB), and Christopher MacCormac (ADB consultant). Helpful comments were also provided by Mia Mikic (UNESCAP), Witada Anukoonwattaka (UNESCAP), Nanno Mulder (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), Antonella Liberatore (OECD), Paolo Giordano (Inter-American Development Bank), and Areef Suleman (Islamic Development Bank).